


The Making of a Hero

by RaawrImaDinosaur



Series: Armin Arlert: The Adventures of America's tiniest hero [2]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Armin thinks he is a superhero, Implied Child Abandonment, Kid Fic, M/M, Very Minor Character Death, it's adorable
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-01 21:01:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2787599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaawrImaDinosaur/pseuds/RaawrImaDinosaur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin Arlert wasn't always a hero. Like every superhero, he didn't have a happy beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> A part of the 'Armin Arlert: The Adventures America's Tiniest Hero', series.
> 
> I'm not American, so please let me know if I've gotten anything wrong :)

Armin wasn't always a super hero. He wasn't always happy, either. Like every super hero, he didn't have a happy beginning.  
He had a mother who was always sad, and a father who was never home; a grandfather who never got out of bed, and dog that he tried to stay far, far away from.

He had a room of his own, that became his sanctuary. His safe haven. He had a yellow blanket that he's had since birth, which he keeps close to his chest at all times, and an adventure book that he had found in his grandfather's room one day. He liked to pretend that he could read it. He would look at the pictures, and close his eyes, pretending that he was there; a knight dashing through the haunted woods, desperately trying to reach the Princess on time, a man who was washed up on a deserted island, and has to try and gather food and build shelter to survive the wilderness, an astronaut who fights alien creatures in space, a cowboy in the middle of a shoot off with the town's sherrif.

But his day dreams never lasted long. Something would always bring him back to reality, whether it was the smashing of glass, or the loud, shrill voice of his mother, screaming down the phone to who he assumed to be his father. Or sometimes, even the slamming of doors, and the loud bellowing of a deep, baritone voice which spat words Armin had never heard of. The last time he asked his mother, she had slapped him and sent him to his room. He never asked again.

One day, his grandfather disappeared. Armin hadn't understood what had happened at the time, and would visit his room, waiting for him to return. His mother would yell at him and tell him to stay out of the room. He always returned, though, waiting for his Grandfather to come back. He never did.

His mother got angrier and angrier at that, cursing his father, and cursing him and throwing glass after glass before breaking down and crying. She didn't like it when Armin asked what was wrong, so he learnt to stay away from her. And one day, she stayed away from him, and a stranger knelt in front of him, with a kind smile on their face. Their name was Hange, and they were going to take him to a better home. A nicer home. Armin was terrified, but agreed to go when he saw a police officer beside them, nodding along with them. Armin took their hand, and followed them to a car.

He was taken to a home where children like himself, lived. Quite honestly, he didn't like them very much. They were loud and always wanted to read his adventure book or shove him around.

Once he shoved one of the children back, and as sent to bed without supper. Those few weeks at the home, were his most miserable. But one day, the person, Hange returned with the police officer, both with smiles on their face. They had found a home for him. His new parents were waiting for him.

He was nervous, at first, terrified, even. He was shaking in his seat the entire way to his new home. He was frightened that these people would yell at him, or that they would hit him or have other children who would get him in trouble. But the moment he saw them, one with with kind, grey eyes and the eternal scowl that seemed etched onto his face, and the tall man who with the same coloured hair as himself who smiled broadly at him. The taller man knelt down, and smiled at him, not making a move to come near him, which Armin was grateful for. 

“Hello.” He said, and held a hand out. “My name is Erwin.”

“Levi.” The shorter one muttered with a nod as he looked down at the trembling four year old.

Armin gulped and looked between the two of them, before back at Hanji and the Police officer, both of whom smiled kindly at him and nodded at him to walk forward.

He turned back to the men in front of him, and puffed out his chest, and accepted the taller man's hand, giving it a shake. “My name is Armin Arlert, and I'm a Superhero.”


	2. The Cape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin is having trouble settling into his new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope I haven't butchered Erwin's personality. Or Levi's. Or Armin's, actually. Please let me know if I've made any mistakes.

Armin had trouble settling in. The first day after he arrived at the Smith residence, he had lost all nerve. He walked around the house, as if on eggshells, blue eyes nervously darting around as he entered a room. 

For instant, that morning, he woke up, looking around the room in confusion before frowning down at his bed. He was sure he had been underneath the bed, the night before, but shrugged and climbed out of bed. He slowly shuffled out of his room, rubbing at his eyes as he dragged his blanket after him. He paused once he entered the living room, and blearily looked about the room, eyes falling on the tall, blond man who was sitting on a spotless leather couch, watching the news. Armin bit on his lip and slowly shuffled backwards, finding himself shy all of a sudden. 

The man, upon hearing the shuffling, turned his head, and smiled when he spotted the four year old. “Good morning, Armin. Did you sleep well?”

Armin shifted on the spot, and turned his eyes and shrugged. 

The man was quite for a moment, before asking, “Are you hungry?”

Armin shrugged again.

“You won't get in trouble for speaking.” The man said, smiling kindly. “I won't push you to speak if you don't want to, though.”

Armin pulled his blanket up to his chest, hugging it tightly. He turned his eyes back to the floor for a long while, before mumbling, “Yes.”

The man stood up, smile still in place as he held out a hand. “Well, follow me and we'll see what we can find in the kitchen.”

Armin looked at his hand with a frown, before hesitantly taking it. The men led him to the kitchen, and sat him on the kitchen bench, before moving to the cupboard. “We weren't really sure what you liked to eat, so we kind of bought a different variety of cereals. I even snuck a box of Lucky Charms into the trolley before Levi noticed. I think Hange mentioned that kids liked this stuff.”

Armin blinked at him before looking at the different boxes in the cupboard and reached up to point to the one that captured his attention.

“Rice Krispies?”

He nodded, and smiled slightly at the characters on the box. “Elves.”

Erwin smiled pulled the box down. “You like Elves?”

Armin nodded again, watching at the man grabbed a bowl and poured the cereal. Erwin poured in the milk, and grabbed the bowl and spoon, and picked Armin up, carrying him to the table, and setting him down in a seat. He placed his breakfast in front of him, and watched as the boy sat up on his knees, and dug into his cereal.

The man left briefly, to retrieve his abandoned cup of coffee before sitting across from him.

Armin looked at the man warily for a moment, and placed his spoon down.

Erwin frowned. “You don't have to stop eating just because I'm here.”

The boy averted his eyes and looked down at his cereal. He eventually picked his spoon up again, and resumed eating, this time with less gusto.

“I'm done.” Armin mumbled after draining the milk from the bowl. Erwin smiled at Armin and took the bowl and spoon to the sink, and washed them. While he did that, Armin awkwardly climbed off the chair, and wandered back to his room.

A while later, there was a soft knock on Armin's bedroom door. Armin blinked from his spot underneath the bed, and looked up at Erwin, who smiled at him. “You must like it under there.”

When Armin nodded, Erwin knelt down. “Mind if I join you?”

Armin hesitated, before nodding again, and shuffled over so that Erwin could crawl under. The man grimaced at the tight squeeze, and laid on his stomach. “So. Do you... usually lay underneath beds?”

“It's my own spot.” Armin said quietly, eyes focused on his adventure book. Erwin nodded and looked at the book as well. “This is quite an interesting book.” He commented after a while. His words made Armin smile and nod. “It's my Grandpa's.”

“Your Grandpa obviously has excellent taste in literature. Which part do you like the most?” Erwin asked.

Armin's eyes brightened at the interest, and started flipping through the pages, until he found the picture he liked. He pointed to it, and Erwin smiled. “The beach?”

“Beach?”

“Yes, that's what it's called. I mean, this is a beach in Vanuatu, but maybe when it gets warmer, Levi and I can take you to a beach that's a lot closer.”

“I want to go.” Armin agreed, smiling as he stared down at the picture.

Erwin chuckled and pinched his cheek. “So. Mind telling me why you ran off all of a sudden?”

Armin's smile instantly dropped, and he pulled his blanket over to him. “S-Sorry.”

Erwin frowned, and shifted so that he could look at the boy properly. “No, don't be sorry. I only wanted to know why you disappeared. Are you okay?”

“Yes.” 

“Are you happy?”

Armin was quiet for a moment before saying, “You're nice.”

“I'm glad you think so. Levi and I only want to make you comfortable. If there's anything you want, or anything you don't like, just let us know, and we'll do our best. We don't know what you went through before coming here, but we won't force you to eat if you're not hungry, or yell at you if you walk into the living room, or the kitchen. We'll do our best to make sure you're comfortable, all right?”

Armin nodded and hugged his blanket, glancing at Erwin. “Okay.”

“There we go,” He said, and smiled as he gave Armin's hair a ruffle. He then looked into the hallway when he heard the jingle of keys from outside. He looked back at Armin, and smiled. “Now, I remember someone telling us yesterday, that they were a Superhero. Is that still true?”

Armin buried his face into his blanket, suddenly shy. “S-Superheroes are b-brave.”

“That's right, and I think you are awfully brave.” Erwin commented. “But I do believe you're missing an essential item.”

When Armin cocked his head to the side, footsteps sounded. “In here, Levi!” Erwin called, causing Armin to jump.

More footsteps sounded, before the ceased completely. Erwin waved a hand from underneath the bed. He heard a sigh. Levi knelt down, and looked underneath the bed with a scowl. “Do you two have any idea how filthy it is under here?”

“You only cleaned under here yesterday. It's spotless, and Armin likes it under here. Care to join us?”

“I'll pass.” Levi muttered, and placed a couple of bags on the ground. 

“You have impeccable timing, Levi. Did you grab the -”

“Yes, I heard you talking about it.” Levi said, and picked up one of the bags. He pulled out some red material, and gave it to Erwin, who turned to Armin, smiling. 

“All Superheros need a cape.” He said, passing the folded material to Armin. 

The boy's eyes widened, as he unfolded it, looking down at it in amazement. “I-It's mine?”

“It's yours.” Erwin agreed, smiling. 

“Now how about you climb out from underneath the bed , and you can try it on.” Levi said, standing up.

Armin nodded and crawled out from underneath the bed, and stood up so he could admire the cape properly. He then looked at Levi shyly, holding the cape out.

“U-Um...”

Levi nodded and accepted the cape, and draped it around the boy, tying it up. “There. Looks like you're all set.”

Armin beamed and hurried over to the mirror in his room, to admire the cape. After a few moments, he walked over to Levi, and smiled shyly before hugging him, and then Erwin, who had finally come out from under the bed. “Thank you!”

“You're very welcome.” Erwin said with a smile. Armin smiled wider and picked up his blanket, ignoring Levi's horrified expression at the state of it, and hugged it tightly. He then turned to Erwin.

“Do you have any superhero movies?”

“No, we don't, but we can certainly go and rent one.” He suggested. “How about you change out of your pyjamas, and after some lunch, we can go and rent one to watch. I think Levi brought some food back from work.”

Levi nodded and picked up the other bag, peeking into it. “I just hope he eats it. I have no idea what that kid likes.”

“Only one way to find out.” Erwin said and took the bag from Levi. “I'll dish it out.”

Levi helped Armin change, before they headed into the kitchen to eat.


	3. Do you want to know a secret?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Armin doesn't like lettuce, and Superheroes are mentioned far too often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, critique is welcome. I'm still pretty rusty with my writing so I apologise in advance. I apologise once again if anyone is out of character, (Baby Armin is difficult to write).

Armin refused to remove his cape. He felt braver while he wore it. Like nothing could possibly hurt him. He felt like he could talk a lot more as well. After all, while he wore his cape, nothing could possibly touch him. No one could hurt the hero. After all, the hero always won.

Although, for all his bravado, he still seemed somewhat hesitant around the men – _Erwin and Levi_ , He thought to himself often, as a reminder. They had names, after all, just like him. He had to remember that.

Remembering their names, though, and saying them were two completely different things. He was still trying to get used to living in such a big house. He wasn't used to so much silence. He was having difficulties getting used to it all. He was sure the men – _Erwin and Levi_ , had noticed, but they hadn't said a word about it, which seemed to placate him.

They acted like he had always lived there. It felt strange to Armin, but he couldn't exactly say he disliked it. He liked to be the centre of attention, for once - At least, he alter ego, did.

For instance, one day he was sitting at the table, colouring in one of the colouring books Levi had bought him only days before, while waiting for the blond - _Erwin_ , to make his lunch. His favourite book was, unsurprisingly, full of heroes and masked men and women saving the day. He spent hours colouring in it. Sometimes, Erwin helped.

“So, Armin...” The above man said, turning to the boy who was focused on his colouring.

When Armin didn't react, the man who spoke, Erwin, blinked, before chuckling seeming to remember something. “Oh, that's right.  _Masked Crusader_ , did you want ham on your sandwich?”

“Is there be green stuff on it?” He asked quietly, peeking at him from under his hair.

“The 'green stuff' is good for you. It'll make you big and strong,” he responded lightly.

Armin didn't seem so sure about that. “What about the red things. Is there red things?”

  
“Yes, I'll put tomato on it.”

  
“... I'll eat the green stuff.” Armin responded with a sigh as he lifted himself onto a chair, sitting on his knees while he waited for Erwin to bring his lunch over. “Where is... is...”

“Levi was called into the office. He'll be out for most of the day.” Erwin said as he set a plate in front of Armin. “He doesn't go in often, but sometimes it's important that he does.”

“What does he do?” Armin asked quietly as he picked up a sandwich square, studying it.

“He is a web designer,” Erwin said.

Armin barely reacted the to mentioned job and bit into his sandwich. “Oh. I dunno what that is.”

“Well, you'll understand what it is when you're a lot older, but I have to say, it is pretty boring but Levi seems to enjoy it.”

“Okay. Can I have juice? Please.”

“Since you asked so nicely.” Erwin smiled and walked behind the counter.

Armin continued to eat his lunch, mind wandering to what he wanted to spend the afternoon, doing. There was a lot to choose from, after all.

Alas, he didn't get the chance to choose, as Erwin made the decision for him. As soon as they had finished lunch, Erwin announced that they were going grocery shopping.

Armin was curious. He hadn't ever gone grocery shopping before, and truth be told, he had no idea what a grocer was. Either way, he was quite happy to spend the afternoon on an adventure. He even told Erwin so. Much to his distaste, though, Erwin started laughing and ruffled his hair. “Oh, what it must be like to be four, again...” He had mused, shaking his head as he helped Armin into the car.

As it turned out, the grocery store wasn't as much of an adventure as Armin had been hoping. He just sat in the front of a trolley, dully staring at the rows and rows of food, wanting to go home. He could barely summon up a cheerful tone as he pointed to whatever two options the Blond man held up and simply said, “That one,” in the blankest tone he could manage.

“I wan' a adventure. This is no fun.” Armin mumbled as they left the checkout. Erwin only seemed amused.  
“I never said that shopping was going to be fun, Armin. But if we hadn't gone, you would have starved to death, and I would be beaten to death for giving Levi one more job to do.”

Not for the first time that day, Armin looked up at Erwin, perplexed.

“Alright.” He said as they reached the car. Armin watched as Erwin put bags into the boot of the car, waiting for the man to continue. He had almost forgotten that they were having a conversation, when Erwin finally continued. “If you promise not to tell Levi...”

“A secret?” Armin asked, wide-eyed and curious.

“Yes, a secret.” He agreed, closing the boot. “If you promise not to tell Levi, we can spend the afternoon doing whatever you want. We can go to the cinema, or go to the bookstore -”

“Superheroes.” When Erwin glanced at Armin, the four-year-old scowled. “Super.Heroes.”

“You want to do something involving Superheroes,” Erwin said, watching the boy nod. He thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright. I'll see what I can do.”

Erwin drove them to another store, one Armin had never seen before. When they entered, he saw dozens of what looked like thin books. “Books?” He asked, looking at Erwin for confirmation. He was disappointed when Erwin shook his head.

“No, Armin. These are DVDs. We can rent one and take it home for the night. They have a lot of superhero movies.”

Armin suddenly looked interested. “I like Superheroes.”

“Do you want to know a secret?” Erwin asked, kneeling in front of him.

Armin nodded furiously, eyes shining, wanting to know what Erwin had been hiding.

“I like superheroes as well.” He responded in a hushed tone, smiling widely at him. “Which means, I know which movies have the best superheroes in them.”

“Really?” When he nodded, Armin smiled and held a hand out to him. “Okay. Take me to the superhero movies. Please.” He added as a second thought.

Erwin took his hand and led him to the correct aisle. They ended up leaving with a few animated films, which Erwin was sure the boy would enjoy.

* * *

 

Hours later, Levi was horrified to find both blonds sitting in front of the television, take out cartons laying around them as they shouted at the animated action on the television.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Levi sucked in a breath and turned on his heels, heading straight to his bedroom to collapse. And to perhaps, allow his husband to survive another night.


End file.
